Out Of Hiding
by shaemysterious
Summary: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and ones they didn't know they had.
1. Chapter 1

**Out Of Hiding: Chapter 1**

**Description: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and discovering ones they didn't know they had.**

Beckett walked into the precinct ready to complete some paperwork from the previous solved case. There was a certain lightness in the atmosphere. In all honesty, days like these were the kind Beckett cherished. Paperwork was one of the few things she truly liked about the job, it was tying up all ends to a case, it meant that the families could get the closure they needed, criminals were in their rightful place behind bars and the fallen really could rest in peace.

Castle walked in about an hour and a half later with the usual two cups of coffee. Between his fingertips was a small pastry bag. "It has been a while since I've brought you a bear claw, so I thought you might enjoy the nice little surprise, plus you're always complaining that I never come in to do paperwork." he said as he set Beckett's coffee down on her desk.

She turned her head upwards to look at him, smiled and said "Thanks Castle. You actually came to do paperwork huh?" Knowing he didn't have to come in first thing this morning, Castle couldn't stop the gravitational pull he felt tugging at him to be around Kate Beckett. Even if it meant silently sitting there while she did paperwork, the silent part being quite impossible for him, he couldn't find anything better to do than to be next to her.

He gave a smile that lead her to believe she probably wouldn't like what he was about to say next. "Well if me doing paperwork means sitting here playing angry birds while you do the actual paperwork then yes, I came to do paperwork." Beckett just shook her head and turned her attention to the file in front of her.

She could feel his eyes on her, in the beginning of their partnership this used to bug her and it still was a little unnerving to have him watch her now after three years. She was finding it extremely hard to concentrate with him playing Angry Birds right next to her. Just before she could call him out on his annoying habit of talking back to the screen Esposito walked back in from getting a cup of coffee to announce there was a murder. _'Castle you don't know how lucky you are.' _Beckett thought.

[-]

Having been there first, Ryan was able to fill everyone in on the current situation when they arrived. "We got a 21 year old male. The landlord identified him as Chris Kendricks. The door was wide open when he came to collect rent; he called 911 when he found the body. The victim has been living here for a little over a year and a half. Always pays cash at the first of every month."

As Beckett paced around the room while listening to Ryan, she spoke up. "It doesn't look like there is any sign of forced entry, so chances are he knew the killer." She slowly kept walked around the room looking at the damage.

Castle took a few looks around the room. That was all he needed. "Well if he knew the killer, they either didn't like each other or they were practicing for fight club." He tilted his head towards Beckett who was now beside him. He gave her a smirk or sarcasm and she gave one of annoyance.

Lanie stood up from beside the body and walked over to the rest of the team. "Well our vic was definitely in an altercation and he put up a real fight. He has got abrasions all along his arms and abdomen."

Castle looked over at the victim tilting his head quizzically. "I don't think it did him much good. Looks like the killer went ninja assassin on him."

Beckett along with every other person in the room just gave Castle this look that had seemed to translate into '_did he really just say that?' _Beckett just seemed to say what everyone else was thinking "Really Castle? You're going with ninja assassin on this one?" After he nodded at her she rolled her eyes out of habit and returned her attention to Lanie.

"As I was saying, the victim was in a fight and a brutal one, out of all the stab wounds he received it looks to actually be this one that punctured his liver." Her gaze shifted to look from Esposito to Kate as she pointed to the fatal laceration.

Rick jumped in and questioned with eyebrows raised "Well do you have any idea what kind of knife he was stabbed with?"

Lanie couldn't help but give Castle attitude when he asked a question like that. "Well, Castle would you be willing to volunteer and let me test some of your ninja assassin theories on you till I find the right one?" Without missing a beat Castle locked his mouth closed and walked in another direction, any other direction that would be away from Lanie.

Lanie was one of the few other people that was able to put Castle in his place and that was just one of the many things Kate loved about her. Kate just smiled at her best friend then nodded towards the victim. "So Lanie do we have a time of death?" the ME looked back over towards the body. "I would say with the decomposition and temp of the body it looks like he had his last breath anywhere between 8 and midnight last night. Once I get to the lab I can have a closer window for you."

All Kate did was nod and say thank you before her attention was shifted over to Castle when she saw he was handing her a small case that contained some drug paraphernalia that they could only guess to be the victims at this point. Kate took the evidence from Castle and placed it into an evidence bag. "Your ninja theory is looking a lot less plausible now." She hinted a small smile as a muscle slightly pulled up at the corner of her mouth before she turned her back to him. "Esposito and Ryan, you stay here, canvas the area and ask the neighbors if they know anything and search the place to see what else you can dig up then we'll go from there. Castle, let's go back to the precinct and see what we can dig up on our vic." With that said, Beckett made her way out of the apartment building, Castle not far behind.

[-]

After hours of computer searches and telephone calls they had gathered up what little information there was on the victim that finally led to their first suspect. Gates had questioned them about their first lead. Beckett filled her in on the basics of what she knew and informed her that after all their searching they had found no next of kin to contact so far. The Capt. instructed them to go and question the suspect and that she would get Ryan and Esposito to search for any family or significant other.

Beckett sternly knocked on the door. The apartment belonged to a Kyle Franks, however Kyle Franks did not open the door, instead Castle and Beckett were greeted by a very young girl dressed in nothing but her undergarments and a men's button up shirt. Beckett quickly showed the girl her badge and asked to see Kyle. The girl tried to close the shirt she was wearing in an attempt to cover up once she realized there were two cops standing in front of her, well one cop and a writer but she didn't know that. She quickly walked out of sight as she went to get Kyle. Within a few second he appeared only half dressed. Kyle did not look like a polite kid. He was only 25 from what his record said and he was covered in tattoos that he probably acquired most while he was in jail on assault charges.

"Hello Kyle Franks I am Det. Kate Beckett, NYPD and this is Richard Castle. I was wondering if you would be willing to answer a few questions about an acquaintance of yours named Chris Kendricks?" After Beckett showed her credentials Kyle shifted his weight so that he was leaning on the frame of the door.

Kyle rolled his eyes and sighed. "Did he get caught breaking and entering again? Let me guess, he needs me to bail him out."

She was starting to get uneasy, she got the feeling that maybe he wouldn't be as willing to cooperate as she had hoped. She shifted her weight from one foot to the other and tried to begin to explain the situation. "Mr. Franks…"

He let out a slight chuckle at just how formal she was. "Mr. Franks is my prick of a father, just call me Kyle." The resentment towards his father was prominent in his voice. It seemed as though old memories came back as his face fell angry.

Sadly Beckett was not about to make things better by breaking the news of why she and Castle were really there. She didn't like breaking this news to anyone, though there were never any right circumstances in which to break the news to someone, this was not the ideal situation, but it had to be done. "Okay Kyle, we are actually investigating his murder. When was the last time that you were in contact with Chris Kendricks?"

Kyle gestured for Beckett and Castle to step inside his apartment. He knew that this wasn't going to be some quick chat about how his friend needed bail money, or a character witness for trial. He let out a long breath that he didn't even know he was holding in before he spoke. "He is dead? Oh man…" He rubbed his neck before he continued. "I actually just talked to him 2 days ago, it was brief, and he called me and said he needed help with something. Chris never said what he needed help with, the call lasted barely a few minutes, and he sounded like he was in a big hurry or something. After I said I would help he told me he would call me later this week after he worked out his plan and then he hung up."

Beckett and Castle sat down across from Kyle. Beckett was hunched over with her elbows resting on her knees as she looked at him quizzically. Castle had proper posture with his hands folded in his lap. His only facial expression was a raised left brow. He chimed in with a question of his own. "So you guys were friends? We saw your record. It was reported that you two had some sort of altercation while you both served time."

Kyle rubbed the back of his neck once more. It was clear he was trying to work through the news of his friend's death, make sense of everything. He looked down at the ground obviously less than proud of the statement Castle just made. "Yeah." He looked back up "We got off to a rocky start. In jail you have to look out for yourself and at the time that's what I was doing. But we quickly patched things up and became friends." He shifted in his seat, trying to appear more at ease as the news was settling in. "There was one guy he seemed to piss off once or twice though. I don't know his real name but he liked to be called 'Maligno' I think it meant evil or something like that."

"Kyle I have to ask this, Where were you last night between the hours of 8 and midnight?" She spoke leaning forward giving the young man a sort of stern look while she waited for his answer.

He leaned back after he nodded his head letting her know he understood that it was her job to ask these questions. "I was at work till 10 and then I came back home to my girlfriend and I have been here since."

Beckett started to stand up and Castle took note by doing the same. It seemed clear there wasn't much else they needed from him. She smiled at him kindly as a way to assure him of how helpful he was. "Alright thanks Kyle. If you happen to think of anything else just give me a call." She handed him her card. They began to make their way out of his apartment before he stopped them.

"Did you guys happen to tell his sister yet?" it was easy to read the worry on his face.

Castle and Beckett both turned around. Their facial expressions matched this time, both of them had furrowed brows not really expecting that development. "We looked through everything we could find on him and there was no mention of family. No record of parents or any siblings at all." Castle rested his hands in his pant pockets while he waited for an explanation that made sense.

Kyle nodded and answered "That is because they wanted to be as invisible as possible. The only family they had was each other." Kyle paused for a moment trying to decide whether he should tell them but he figured anything he told the cops would be helping his friends. "When Chris and his sister were in foster care I guess something bad happened, he never told me the whole story, When he was 17 he took his sister and they left the home they were staying in. They came to the city and he got them new identities, I don't even know what their real names are."

Castle continued with asking the questions. "Well what does she currently go by?"

Kyle replied. "Bria. Bria Kendricks." He hoped that he was doing the right thing. He looked as though he wasn't sure it really was.

Beckett stepped in, taking back the control Castle briefly had. "Do you know where we could find her?"

Kyle thought for a moment then said "It might be pretty hard. He did everything he could to make sure that on paper she didn't exist, that neither of them existed. Of course he didn't care what happened to him, but he did whatever was necessary to keep her hidden. If I remember right I think he would sometimes pick her up from a diner on Broadway called Tom's. I am pretty sure that is where she worked."

Making eye contact Beckett chimed in and once again gave a reassuring smile "Thank you Kyle you have really been helpful." Beckett and Castle then made a quick exit from the apartment. As Castle gave Kyle a wave good-bye Beckett was on her phone making a call to Esposito.

As they were walking down the hall Beckett was giving instructions for Esposito and Ryan to find the Diner and go to check it out. Once she gave the order she hung up. "Come on Castle; let's head back to the precinct.

[-]

When Esposito and Ryan walked back into the precinct they saw Castle sitting in his chair located next to Beckett's desk. He was watching her as she wrote on the murder board all they had come up with in the past hour or so.

After she heard the wheels of their chairs scoot across the floor she turned towards them. "Did anything pan out from the diner?" She rested her hands on her hips after she placed the cap on the white board marker.

Ryan leaned back in his seat and rested his hands on the arms of his chair. "We talked to the owner. He pays her under the table, in cash so there is no way to trace her on paper, but payday is tomorrow so he said we should be able to catch her sometime from 10 to 11 a.m."

Beckett walked over to her desk, picked up her cup of coffee and took a drink. "Alright." She looked down at her watch. "It is kind of getting late so why don't we call it a night and pick up again tomorrow." She began to pick her jacket up off her chair. Ryan and Esposito were already making their way into the elevator. Castle watched as the doors closed.

"Calling it a night earlier than usual? You have a date or something?" Castle asked as they both walked to the elevator together waiting for it to make its way back up.

There was a small amount of silence before she chose to answer. She could see he was starting to get nervous so she just smiled and decided to put him out of his misery. "No date Castle. I am actually just hoping to get some sleep tonight, I didn't get much last night." The elevator made a ding as the doors opened up letting them inside. Beckett pushed the button that would lead them to the ground floor. As the doors closed she continued "The couple in the apartment next to me had some sort of fight. It kept me up till around 1. So I am looking to get all the sleep I can tonight."

Castle felt a small crooked smile fall upon his face. Though he was joking when he made the comment about the date, he did feel a small amount of worry and sadness when she had paused before she answered the question. The elevator's doors opened and let them go their separate ways home, but not before Castle said a quick "Until tomorrow detective." and turned to face her one last time for the night.

"Good night Castle." She only gave a small wave and quick smile before she hopped in her car and headed home prepared for a good night's sleep.

**So this is my first fanfiction. I would like to know what you think of it so far :)**

**I also want to say a huge thank you to my beta nikkicarter (.net/u/2437505/). She has been amazing and continues to be throughout this process of mine :)**


	2. Chapter 2

**Out Of Hiding: Chapter 2**

**Description: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and discovering ones they didn't know they had.**

**A/N: Just a heads up, this chapter did not go through a beta so any mistakes you see are mine. Let me know if you find any and I will try to correct them!**

A well-rested Beckett was sitting at her desk hard at work that morning when Castle walked in with the two usual cups of coffee. "Good morning Beckett." He placed her cup on her desk on top of the papers she was reading. She was looking for anything that might move the case along in some way. Castle cheerfully sat down in his chair and lifted one leg to cross over the other as he took a sip from the cup in his hands.

"Morning Castle." She removed the coffee cup from the papers it was sitting on and took a sip. She placed her hand over her mouth and swallowed quickly when she felt the coffee burn her tongue then set down her coffee. Her coffee was extremely hot, unlike this case. They didn't have much to go off of and trying to find good leads in this case was like a needle in a haystack at this point. Castle quickly apologized for the coffee being too hot; he went on to say he specifically asked the barista to make sure that it wouldn't be too hot. Beckett just smiled "Castle it's okay. It can cool off while we work on the case." She said as she pointed over to the murder board.

Beckett stood up from her seat. She grabbed the dry erase marker that was on her desk next to her keyboard and walked over to the murder board. Castle saw that she had started writing underneath a picture they had found of Andre Renteria a.k.a. 'Maligno'. After they had got back to the precinct from talking with Kyle Franks they did some poking around in the records of the Metropolitan Correctional Center. They then found out that they guy known as 'Maligno' was actually Andre Renteria, a 23 year old man with a long record of drug possession, intent to sell and probation violations. It was a mystery how the victim had managed to get in trouble with someone like Andre. Chris Kendricks only spent a short amount of time in jail when he was 19 for attempting to break into a mini store. The only connection Chris actually had to Andre was that for a short period of time they were both in the same jail facility.

Esposito and Ryan had walked in not long after Castle. They each walked over to the white board to see if there had been any new developments. Not much had been added to the very plain board. This case was harder than most. Chris Kendricks was practically a ghost; there was not much to go off of. There was no way to dig up any dirt from his past because prior to 4 years ago there was no one named Chris Kendricks.

Making sure the investigation was moving along Capt. Gates walked out of her office to get a feel for what the detectives were thinking. She walked right up to the murder board only examining it for a short second. "How did the visit with Kyle Franks go yesterday?" Her eyes passed Castle and landed on Beckett waiting for an answer.

"Well Sir, he claims they'd patched things up just before they were both released. He did happen to give us the name of a sister that we didn't know about. Esposito and Ryan went to check out the place where she works yesterday and the owner said that we would be able to catch her around 10 today." She kept eye contact with Gates knowing she would soon voice her opinion.

"Okay. What else did you find out about the victim Chris Kendricks?" She saw that there wasn't much by how bare the murder board looked but she crossed her arms seeking answers anyways.

Esposito took lead by speaking up to answer Gates' question "Well other than the sister, not much. The only other thing we know is that he had a few problems with a drug dealer named Andre Renteria, who also goes by the Spanish name 'Maligno'."

They all got a nod of approval. "Good work guys. See if you can find some of this drug dealer's crew. You're probably more likely to get one of them to talk." She walked back into her office without waiting for any of the detectives to respond and she certainly did not want to hear another one of Castle's far-fetched theories.

Castle spoke up, breaking the silence with a question they were all thinking. "I just don't get it. How does someone like Chris Kendricks end up pissing off a guy like Andre Renteria? He runs almost half of the drug scene all over New York City. I mean how did these guys even cross paths? They are polar opposites." Castle was facing the rest of the team with his back to the murder board.

Having dealt with guys like Andre, Ryan leant his expertise on the subject. "With guys like 'Maligno' it isn't hard to piss them off and once you do though they make sure you're sorry for it. I actually spoke to one of the guards at the prison earlier and he said that some of 'Maligno's' guys roughed him up and then not long after Chris was pretty much running around with them, doing whatever they asked. Maybe he was doing their dirty work for them after he got out as well." He shrugged.

Esposito chimed in with an idea. "Ryan and I will start asking around about Andre Renteria, see if we can get a list of some of his crew members and bring them in for questioning?" He slapped Ryan on his shoulder, a gesture to follow him back to their desks and get to work.

Beckett called out to both detectives as they walked away. "Don't bring them in till after we go down and talk to the sister. We should leave in about 30 minutes if we want to get there before she does." They shouted from across the room in response letting her know that her order was heard and would be followed. She turned back to look at Castle.

"Did you ever hear back from Social Services on whether or not they had a missing brother and sister?" He followed her back to her desk and they both sat down in their respective chairs in unison. He crossed one leg over the other as he lifted his elbow to rest it on the arm of his chair, his chin falling into the palm of his hand.

Leaning back in her chair with her arms outstretched to run her hands through the half curled ringlet of her hair she answered with a tone of frustration "Nothing yet. Apparently it isn't as uncommon for kids in the foster care system to just run away or disappear as one might think." She gave her hair a quick shake with her fingers and then moved her hands forward to massage her temples. Det. Beckett was both frustrated and disappointed in the lack of evidence in the case so far. "Plus it doesn't help that Social Services is constantly backed up with case files and all sorts or paperwork." Even at the release of the deep breath she had just took in it still was not enough to calm her.

[-]

A while later, just in time, Esposito and Ryan came back with a small list of suspects to talk to, some of Andre Renteria's crew members. Ryan handed the folder over to Beckett containing the list of names she needed. "These are just a few. There are a couple currently in jail and I am sure some we don't even know about, but these were the ones we could get." He placed both hands in his pants pockets and stood there next to Esposito waiting for her reply.

"Great work guys." She looked down at her watch noticing the time. "It is about 9 so we should head down to the diner where Bria Kendricks works." They all scattered grabbing their jackets, car keys, badges and guns. As Beckett was pulling on her jacket she shouted over to Esposito. "Hey what was the address of the diner?"

He turned to her as they were all walking towards the elevator. "It's on the corner of Broadway and W 112th St."

Now outside walking to their cars Beckett gave an order "You guys sit at the corner of Broadway and we will take 112th."

[-]

By the time both cars were parked in there designated spots it was a quarter to ten. Just in time to see Bria walk into the diner. Beckett radioed over to Esposito. "See anything yet?" He declined any sight of the girl on their corner. She had confirmed that there was no movement of her side as well.

There was a subtle movement coming from the passenger's seat. Castle turning to look at her said "Why are we treating this like some sort of special ops mission? She is just a little teenage girl right?" His face was serious with a hint of confusion.

His partner just smirked at him. She knew that you could never underestimate anybody. "Castle this girl has managed to be a ghost on all counts up until this point. She and her brother ran away from the foster care system around 4 years ago so she has no reason to trust cops. We have to assume that she is going to try and run the moment she spots us."

Before Castle could give his thoughts on her answer Esposito interrupted over the radio. "We spot her. She just went inside. She is wearing jeans and a tan cargo jacket. She also has a blue baseball cap on." Beckett radioed back giving the order to go and get her.

Just as they were shutting the doors of their cars Bria was making her way out of the diner placing the money she just picked up in her jacket pocket and zipped it up. As each of the team members were walking across the interchange they noticed that Bria had spotted them and began to run. Esposito and Ryan went around the corner of Broadway to try and cut her off at the alley in the back of the building while Castle and Beckett chased behind her. The young girl heard someone shout "STOP! NYPD!" But she didn't stop and she didn't dare look behind her. She cut into the alleyway behind the diner and she could see another pair of detectives at the end making their way towards her. Getting caught was not an option. Instead she jumped on top of a dumpster on the right side of the alley. From there she outstretched her legs to reach the fire escape that was inches in front of her. Beckett was the closest in distance so she repeated the same path that Bria had. Castle was not far behind Beckett, not wanting to miss a moment of the action.

As each of the three made their way up the fire escape, Bria only about a level and a half ahead, Kate shouted her name. "Bria Kendricks stop! Police!" She disobeyed the orders to stop and kept going up until she had reached the top of the building. It wasn't long after she made it to the top that Beckett had too and now had her gun out pointing at the back of the girl as she ran across the roof. She gave one final warning as Bria reached the ledge of the building, standing on the metal that bordered the edge. "Bria Kendricks stop or I will shoot. This is the last warning." She noticed that the young girl turned her head back to look at her. In that moment Castle whispered in her ear "You can't shoot her, she is just a kid." But she shushed him quiet as she pulled back on her gun and narrowed her eyes focusing on the girl's figure, ready to fire if she moved. For a moment she squatted down, looking almost as though she had decided to give up. She had actually done the complete opposite by leaping the short distance to the building in front of her. She had managed to grab hold of the top of the building, using all the upper body strength she had and with the assistance of her legs scrapping across the side of the building to pull herself up and over the ledge. Beckett had not taken the chance to shoot her, she couldn't. It wasn't like she would aim to kill her, but just somewhere that would stall her for long enough to cuff her. Castle's words that had run uncontrollably on loop through her mind had stopped her from firing her gun. Bria popped up after having made it onto the roof successfully. She took a quick glance at Castle and Beckett. Only for a moment, long enough to make out the next word that had come out of the detective's mouth. "Dammit!" she had said as she lowered her gun and used her free hand to run her fingers through her hair out of frustration. Beckett saw that Bria was looking at her, but not long before she ran getting as far away from the cops as possible.

Just as Beckett had hoped down off the fire escape, Castle mimicking her same movements, she walked up to Esposito and Ryan. "We almost had her. She jumped to the next building over and kept going. Now she is gone and there is no way of finding her." Beckett was thinking of their next move. Everyone else just watched her in silence. She looked over at her team. She looked at them as though the answers might have been written on their face. It's almost as if they were, her posture had straightened out, she had a new plan. "Let's head back to the precinct. Ryan and Esposito you guys start rounding up some of Andre's crew and see what you can get out of them." They immediately turned to go back to their car. Beckett turned on her heels and started to pace towards her car. As Castle followed behind he was thinking of a good apology, he was not able to find the right words at the moment.

As they were driving in the car she had suggested that maybe Castle talk with a sketch artist. Maybe they could use a picture of her to run through the Social Services database, see if they could get a hit, figure out her real identity along with her brothers. The car had been parked directly in front of the doors of the precinct. As they were making their way in Beckett had received a call from Lanie with some news. There was obvious relief in Beckett's voice as she let the ME know she would be over to the morgue shortly to discuss what was found.

[-]

Beckett walked into the morgue with high hopes. She had hoped that whatever Lanie had would break the case wide open. She walked up to the dead body that was lying on the examination table, with a typical 'Y' shaped cut on the chest from when the autopsy was performed. Lanie walked into the room second later and Beckett asked for what she had on the victim or the killer.

Picking up the file folder that was next to the victim Lanie took one last quick glance over it before speaking. "Well our victim was approximately killed at 11 o'clock late last night." Lanie put down the file in her hand and lifted one of his as if to examine it at closer view. She looked up at her friend as she spoke. "Some bruising appeared on his hands, my guess is from when he fought back, but I was unable to find any skin or DNA underneath his fingernails." She picked up the file once more this time handing it to Beckett so that she could see for herself. "I was able to find your weapon. He was stabbed multiple times with the same 3.25 inch blade. We were able to find a match in our system by the traces of stainless steel we found. It is a spring assisted tactical pocket knife."

Finally she had useful information that was sure to give them strong leads about the case, hopefully. She smiled at her best friend and said thank you before going back up to the precinct to share the news with the rest of the team and see where they were at with other leads.

**A/N(2): I am glad everyone is liking the story so far. I know it might seem boring at first but I promise there will be Caskett moments to come, I just have to get this case out of the way. I want to say a huge thank you to everyone for supporting my first story! Please review :)**


	3. Chapter 3

**Out Of Hiding: Chapter 3**

**Description: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and discovering ones they didn't know they had.**

It looked like everyone was hard at work, following up on leads, when she walked out of the elevator. Ryan was just getting of the phone when Beckett approached. "Hey. Uniforms are bringing in a few of Andre's crew members now so we should be able to question them soon." He followed Beckett over to the murder board as she went to add all the information Lanie had given her.

Ryan was handed the file before she wrote anything down. "Lanie says that is our murder weapon so I want you to call around and see what shops sell this knife, then get their record of everyone that has bought one." After he left to do as she requested she turned to the murder board to adjust the timeline they had created. Second later she saw Castle walking out of the refreshments area with the sketch artist. She straightened up as the approached.

The sketch artist handed her the completed picture and shook both of their hands before exiting the building. Esposito walked up to examine the change made on the board. "Esposito can you take this picture down to Social Services and see if anyone knows who she really is, then once you get her name go ahead and send out and APB to all airports, train and bus stations and every hospital. Put on the news stations as well." He nodded in response then quickly got to work. Just as he left there were police officers bringing in the first of Andre's crew. Beckett looked over and watched as each one was placed in a different interrogation room.

"Let's go Castle there are a lot of felons we need to question." She was on her way into interrogation room 1; knowing Castle would not be far behind.

[-]

Walking out of the last interrogation room Beckett let out a thick sigh. Castle shut the door and quickened his step to catch up with the detective who was making her way over to the murder board to find a new approach to take, the one they were using currently was not being effective. "It's no surprise none of those guys had any pertinent information, they are all in a gang, if they squeal they are as good as dead." Beckett had tuned out his voice though. The negative comments were not helping her in anyway.

"Bro in every group there's always at least one weakling, you just gotta find the right guy." Esposito had appeared beside Castle and as he spoke he tilted his head towards Castle with raised brows as if to indicate he was the weakling in their group. Esposito always knew how to make Beckett smile in times of need.

Castle turned his entire body towards Esposito in defense. "Hey I have been vital to your investigations on multiple occasions." Esposito was smiling with a touch of sarcasm as Castle continued "If I recall I helped save your life when Lockwood captured you and Ryan."

Before Esposito could try to refute Castle's statement Beckett chimed in to break up the argument. "Guys! Can you take this argument up another time? We didn't get much from Andre's guys other than conformation that Chris Kendricks was working for them. I am thinking we need to go talk to Andre himself."

Beckett suddenly got distracted by Det. Ryan running back with a list of people who had bought the same knife used to kill their victim. He spoke as he handed a manila folder over to Beckett watching as she opened it to examine the list. "There are about a handful of shops that sell that particular knife. After sifting through all the names I found one that sounded very familiar." Castle was looking over Beckett's shoulder as she read the list and spotted the one that Ryan had highlighted. They spoke the name "Kyle Franks." in unison and then turned their heads towards each other with smiles of amazement plastered on their face. The other two detectives in the room just smiled at the pair knowing that this was a regular occurrence.

The first to snap out of the trans they both seemed to be in was Beckett "Ryan, you and Castle go pick up Kyle Franks and bring him in to question him. Esposito and I will go and talk to Andre." Every split up into their designated teams determined to make progress with the case.

Ryan pulled up to the apartment building of Mr. Kyle Franks. He and Castle made their way up the stairs to the 5th floor, the elevator being out of order. They each took the final breath needed to steady their heart rates. Ryan knocked on the door "Kyle Franks open up!". He did just that. This time it was Kyle who opened the door. Ryan flashed his badge and Castle flashed his smile. "Why don't you come down to the station with us." Kyle shut the door behind him and followed as they all walked back to the car to make their way to the precinct.

[-]

Nothing about the neighborhood scared Beckett or Esposito in the least, but both would be the first to admit that they were a little on edge walking through an area of town such as this one. Once Andre Renteria was spotted the team of detectives walked over to him. He was the type of guy that demanded power in any situation, but they were not going to give it to him. It was clear to him they were cops, Beckett had briefly showed her badge as she was walking up and Esposito's hung around his neck in clear view. The gang leader's posture had changed as soon as they reached him, he was standing in a fashion that had told them they weren't welcome and the detectives of course ignored this.

"Yo, we heard you got a guy named Chris Kendricks working for you. That true?" Esposito was ready to face off with the gang leader, not only did he despise guys like him but he was also tired of the case going nowhere. He was determined to get answers. Beckett watched them standoff, knowing full well that Esposito would get the answers he requested one way or another. Andre's posture changed after a few moments. His hands were now in his pockets and he was no longer leaning up against the wall of the building behind him. He realized they would not be leaving till they go what they came for.

"Can't be good for business, being seen talking to cops. Can't be good for your street cred either." Beckett tilted her head looking at him with a tough glare knowing full well he would likely talk having realized that she was right. He took a step forward keeping his eyes locked on her.

[-]

Their suspect had been waiting in the interrogation room for around 10 minutes before Ryan walked in with Castle directly behind him. Castle shut the door forcefully all the while keeping a stern and serious look on his face. Ryan tossed a file on the table that landed in front of the suspect. He pointed to the file "Why don't you open that up and tell me what you see." He ordered.

As Kyle opened the manila folder Castle walked over to sit at the table. He planted himself in the steel chair and folded his hands on the table top. His eyes looked deeply at Kyle as he awaited his reaction to what was in the folder. Ryan had placed himself up against the observation mirror.

It was instantly clear that Kyle Franks was ready to play games, however the writer and detective weren't. He shrugged answering "A knife." In the most obvious sarcastic tone. He leaned over the table and shifted his gaze between Ryan and Castle. His tone now had an element of arrogance. "If you guys need me to tell you that this is a knife…" He locked his glare on Det. Ryan as if he was challenging him in some way. He finished "Maybe being a cop wasn't the right career move."

His left foot kicked off the wall and he walked over to the table letting out a light and sarcastic chuckle. The suspect had clearly underestimated him, but he was about to set him straight. He was purposely invading the personal space of Kyle Franks. He firmly set both hands on the table putting his face inches from Kyle's but all the while looking at Castle. "This guy likes jokes." He lifted one of his hands to point at Kyle. He used that same hand to lift a picture of the knife directly in Kyle's line of sight. Ryan spoke in a calm yet forceful manner. "This knife is the same one that was used to kill your buddy Chris." He walked around to the other side of the table to sit in the seat next to Castle.

"Not so funny now are you Kyle." Castle said with a proudly plastered smile on his face to accompany his very pleased tone.

Ryan jumped in "You want to know what else isn't funny?" He waited to see if Kyle would have some sort of answer but did not give him the chance to vocalize it. "Murder." Ryan said as he went to place the photo that was still in his hand back in the folder that was still on the table top. "We talked to your girlfriend and she said that you guys went to sleep shortly after you got home from work. The posture of the suspect went unchanged so Ryan continued "Which means you had more than enough time to go over to Chris Kendricks' apartment, being that you only live a few blocks from each other, and kill him."

At this point it was evident Kyle began to squirm as he straightened up in his seat. "Also since you own the same weapon that was used to kill him, it isn't looking good for you."

Castle raised his left finger to add to the list of evidence against Kyle Frank's, which would make him look very guilty in front of any jury. "You can't forget the fight they had while both serving time in jail either." He smiled as if to say 'Gotcha'

A very cheerful Ryan looked over at Castle and snapped his fingers. "You're right Castle!" He looked back over toward the suspect. "Feel like confessing yet?"

Kyle Franks leaned in real close to request his lawyer. The pair got up. "Fine with me. We can escort you down to holding to wait there for your lawyer. I am sure 'Crazy Tim' would love the company.

They were near the door as Castle added "You look like his type." He placed his hand on the door knob and was just about to turn it when Kyle shouted out to stop him. Both Ryan and Castle turned to face him wanting to hear what he had to say.

"Okay yes I bought the knife, but not for me. Chris wanted me to buy if for him, err, his sister Bria."

This information definitely sparked their interest. They walked back over to the table. Ryan questioned "Why would his sister need a knife?" Castle had also followed up with a couple questions of his own. "And why would he need _you_ to buy it for him? Why not just get it himself?"

He took in a deep breath. "He asked me to get it for him because he didn't want it traced back to him, I don't know he was paranoid, he said he needed to get the knife for Bria so that she could protect herself. He went on to say that he got into some trouble with some bad guys and they threatened him and Bria. I thought he was just being crazy."

Ryan lightly placed his fingertips on the table top. "Did he tell you who threatened him?"

He shook his head no. "After I found out Chris was dead I tried to call his sister but all I got were a few rings and then her voicemail." he shrugged.

Det. Ryan asked for the sister's phone number and then started to walk out of the interrogation room but not before letting Kyle know he was being released and that an officer would be by to take him home. As Castle was shutting the door he pointed at Kyle while saying "Don't leave town."

[-]

"Yeah he did favors for me. Not lately though, haven't seen him in a couple days." He shrugged.

Esposito laughed as he stepped closer "So you expect us to believe that one of your guys just goes missing and doesn't contact you for a couple days and it's all cool with you?"

The ring of Beckett's phone had interrupted the conversation so she stepped aside to answer it. On the other line was Ryan filling her in on the progress they had made with the interrogation. He let her know everything he knew about the threats and the sister's phone number. She wrapped up their conversation by saying "Great work. See if you can get a trace on the phone." Ryan agreed to do so from the other side of the line. "Call me once you get a location." After giving orders she hung up and went to return to Esposito's side. She walked up in time to hear the last statement Andre gave about Chris not being valuable enough to keep tabs on. She was placing her phone in her coat pocket as she spoke. "Oh. So is that why you threatened him?"

He knew that he was caught in a lie. There was no use in trying to dance around the question or cover it up with more lies. He figured his best bet would be to deny the accusations. "I don't know what threats you're talkin' about lady?"

"Well maybe a ride downtown can help clear your memory." Esposito had no problem slapping cuffs on Andre Renteria and bringing him back to the precinct. Beckett knew that by the sound of his voice.

[-]

The moment they got back to the precinct Esposito took Andre back to holding to let him ponder his decision not to be helpful in their investigation.

Before Beckett could even sit at her desk her phone was ringing. She rushed over to answer it. "Beckett." Just as soon as she started to take her jacket of she put it right back on. She said a polite 'thank you' to the person on the other line and hung up her phone back on the receiver.

Ryan walked back in with a piece of paper in his hand. "Tech wasn't able to get GPS coordinates off of the phone because it is a burner, but a call was made about 15 minutes ago and they were able to get the location off a nearby cell tower."

"911." She finished his statement

"Yeah that was the last call she made. How did you know?" He stood looking confused as did Castle who was standing next to the murder board.

"That was St. Luke's Hospital Center. They called to let us know a young girl was brought in matching the name in description that was sent out with the APB. They told us she was beaten up pretty bad but we could go down and talk to her." She reached into her pocket and grabbed her keys. As she began to walk out of the precinct she said "Come on Castle, let's go."

**A/N: Sorry that this chapter took so long to post. The holidays were really hectic for me. From now on I hope to post one chapter every Monday. I would really appreciate your reviews. Also again this chapter did not go through my beta but as soon as it does I will update it with corrections.**


	4. Chapter 4

**Out Of Hiding: Chapter 4**

**Description: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and discovering ones they didn't know they had.**

The lovely nurse at the front desk pointed Beckett and Castle in the correct direction as soon as she saw the police badge. They arrived at the bed in the far corner of the E.R. and noticed that the curtain was pulled closed. Beckett lifted her hand gently to the cloth barrier between her and the young girl and slightly pulled at it so that she was able to make her way over to the bed. As soon as the girl was in her line of sight Beckett cringed internally. When she heard the phrase 'beaten up' she figured a busted lip and maybe a black eye, nothing like what was in front of her at that moment. Bria Kendricks had major cuts on her forehead and cheek, a scrape along the bottom of her jaw that looked as though she was dragged along pavement face down. All the cuts were also accompanied by a bruise around her neck and left eye. All of it was only on the surface, there was much more damage that couldn't be seen.

As soon as Beckett flashed her badge at Bria she knew things were about to get worse. She tossed her head back on to the pillow and kept her eyes fixated on the ceiling tiles above. "Am I going to juvy or back to Social Services?" At first there was no response so she lifted her head off the pillow and looked at the detective who just shrugged.

She moved slowly to the right side of the bed, next to the monitors, she glanced at them and then back at Bria. "It's all up to you if you are willing to cooperate." Not a word was said on Bria's behalf. She lifted her left arm to show that it was restrained by a set of handcuffs that the officer had place on her and the bed rail earlier. "Okay, well how about we start with how you ended up like this, beaten up." She narrowed her eyes, demanding the truth all the while knowing she probably wouldn't get it the first time around.

"Well it's quite funny actually, after I had outrun you and your team…" She raised her chin out of arrogance. "I decided to hide out in Butler Library for a while and on my way out I wasn't paying attention. One of my shoes was untied; I tripped over my laces and fell down the stairs. Not my most graceful moment." Her posture did not change; instead she sat there waiting to answer the next question.

It was clear Beckett did not believe a word of her story. "That was a very nice story Miss Kendricks. It would even be a bit more believable if the ambulance picked you up at Butler Library, but they didn't. In fact they picked you up about four and half blocks in the opposite direction, near a subway station on 110th. So do you want to tell me the truth or do you want me to come up with my own story?" The only movement she made was when she placed her hands in her pockets. She was still as she waited to see just how difficult this conversation would be.

Her eyes shifted from looking at Detective Beckett over to looking at the pastel coloured curtain. Weren't hospital's supposed to make people feel better, help them get well? Those curtains did not seem cheerful or like they would make anyone feel remotely better. "You don't know anything." She said in a hushed, deep tone that was just loud enough for both Castle and Beckett to hear.

It was time to lay all her cards on the table. Beckett realized that she was either going to cooperate or not. She wasn't giving half-truths, she was lying point blank. The detective was about to give her last stitch of efforts in getting the girl to come clean, she really hoped that it would work. "Actually I know a lot. I'm a cop and it is my job to know things. I know your real name isn't Bria Kendricks." Her head snapped over to look at Beckett. "I know you went into foster care on your 2nd birthday. When you were only 12 you and your brother ran away from foster care and created a new life for yourselves." Beckett bent down to sit on the edge of the bed still keeping eye contact. She could tell she was getting somewhere because Bria Kendricks had the beginnings of tears forming in her eyes. "About a week and a half ago your brother was threatened by some pretty bad guys and I am guessing they are the ones that jumped you. Am I right?"

Her head hung in confirmation while she quickly wiped the singer tear that was on the brink of falling on her cheek. She was mad at herself for letting that tear form. She was not weak, even if she was she didn't want anyone else making that discovery and using it against her.

Their hands connected and the girl looked back up once more. "I know lately it has been rough for you and unfortunately what I am going to say next isn't going to be easy to hear." She took in a deep breath "This morning we found your brother Chris, I am sorry to tell you, he was murdered. We need you to start telling us the truth so we can find the person responsible."

Her brother's echo in her head kept saying _'be strong'_. If the silence had gone on any longer she would have broken down. She was doing everything in her power to prevent that from happening, she was in a haze when she started talking. "The other night I worked the late shift, I got off at 6 yesterday morning, I-I saw all these cops outside the building so I just kept walking because I thought they were there t-to put me back into the foster care system and I didn't want to go back, I couldn't! I called him. I called Chris but he never answered me. I tried to find out where he was but no one knew." The thoughts running through her head kept her distracted to the point where she hadn't even noticed multiple tears had fallen from her face.

Beckett rested a hand on the girl's shoulder while Castle watched. He wanted so badly to service some help but he knew that the best thing he could do was just to let Beckett do what she was good at. "I need you to tell me what happened today, I need you to tell me who hurt you."

The back of her hand rubbed against her check as she tried to wipe the tears away. After they were gone she placed her hands in her lap and nervously fidgeted with her fingers. She looked up towards Castle as some sort of assurance that she would be doing the right thing by telling them what really happened. There was something in the look her gave her that was compassionate as it was trusting. She put on her poker face as she shifted in the bed she felt a strong pain in her rib cage as a result of the 2 ribs that had been broken, and another cracked. "I was in a rush to catch the subway so I could crash at a friend's until I could figure out what to do. I didn't even notice anyone start to follow me. The subway just left and I was waiting for the next one to come by when…" She reached for the back of her head "I felt my head being yanked back. They pulled me all the way to the wall." She dropped her hand back into her lap. "The two of them started hitting me and kicking me once I fell to the ground. I didn't even notice when they stopped until one of them picked me up by my throat." She swallowed hard remembering what the hands around her neck felt like, they were hot. "One of them kept saying I had to make up for my brothers mistake, that I had to make it right. Then he slammed the back of my head against the wall." She looked over at the detective.

Even though she knew the answer already she still had to ask "You don't know who they were?" The girl didn't know if that was a statement or a question but shook her head 'No' anyways. Beckett really wanted to get these guys. She didn't like the way they did as they pleased and she certainly did not like the way they were messing with her investigation, intentional or not. "Would you know their faces, if you saw them again?"

Castle's eyes snapped over to Beckett and then Back at the girl. She was looking at him this time almost as if she wanted him to intervene. She has no one looking out for her, which is why he felt the need to pull the detective aside. "Beckett, can I talk to you for a second?" He looked back over with pleading eyes. They both politely smiled before stepping a short distance away from the curtain.

"What is it Castle?" she worked up as she placed both hands on her hips.

He looked past her in the direction of the curtain and then back into her. "I… I think we should find another way to get these guys. Maybe we can check the cameras at the subway station. I think she has been through enough. Don't make her go through having to pick their faces out of a line-up or a book."

"Castle…" She shook her head and looked down at her feet. "Asking her to do this isn't easy for me either but for the sake of this case, if we want to have any chance at catching these guys we can't simply rely on bad quality video footage alone. I'm sorry, but we have to get her to identify them."

"Just…" He was having a hard time getting his words out "Can you just let me talk to her?"

One of the many things she loved about Rick Castle was how he was always compassionate towards others. She tilted her head accepting his request. "You can talk to her while I am talking to her doctor, then we should head back to the precinct."

"Thank you Kate." He smiled before leaving her.

When Bria Kendricks looked up she only saw Castle and though he was smiling at her there was a touch of sympathy in his eyes as he pulled the curtain back over to separate them from the rest of the hospital. "I don't think I can identify those guys." Her voice was shaking but she did everything she could to mask that.

He walked over to the hospital bed that she was laying in and rested his hand on the end of the railing. "You have been through a lot in the past few days and I know this must be hard, but if you help us and identify the guys that did this to you we can catch your brother's killer."

"No pressure." She scoffed sarcastically. She swallowed "I can take a beating, but if I want to continue to breath then I can't do it. I can't do what you're asking of me. You're going to have to find another way." She shook her head.

Out of frustration he looked down and placed his hands in his pockets trying to find another approach. "If you do this we can make sure you stay safe, make sure a guard is nearby at all times. They won't be able to get to you."

There was no question that she would walk away if she could, but she was stuck. "What happens when I get out of here? I have a job, I have to be able to support myself and I can't be looking over my shoulder every 5 seconds." She suddenly realized she had raised her voice. She took a deep breath in "I'm sorry but I-I can't." She looked at him apologetically hoping he would understand.

He took his hands out of his pockets and took a step from where he was. "I promise you if you agree to identify the guys who did this to you we will keep you safe until they are locked up for a very long time." He looked at her with hope that she would believe in him enough to say yes.

She thought about it while she shifted uncomfortably in pain. "Hasn't anyone ever told you not to make promises you can't keep?"

"I will keep this promise and if you want do it for me then do it for your brother, this may be our only chance at catching them, you may be our only chance." He saw the tears start to gather in her eyes the moment he mentioned her brother. He hoped that was a good sign.

His hope was contagious. She was starting to hope that it would work out, that they would catch her brother's killer. That however did not stop her from worrying. She used jokes and sarcasm whenever she got worried. "Okay I will do it, but I am giving you fair warning that my memory wasn't all the great before it got my head kicked and bashed against a wall. So I will probably be about as useful as a computer with no battery." A smile stretched across her face try to get rid of any evidence that might lead him to think she was scared.

"You'll do great." His smile was now matching hers.

Beckett peeked in to discover that the atmosphere was now a lot lighter than it was when she stepped away earlier. Richard Castle had that effect. She had caught the last bit of their conversation and knew now they were going to be able to catch the murderer. "Castle you ready to head back?" She watched him back away from the bed and placed himself next to her. He looked at her and nodded. "We should be back later with a book for you to look at so you can make a positive identification."

She nodded to confirm Beckett's statement before watching the two leave.

When they were leaving Beckett nudged Castle with her elbow "You did really good back there." She smiled at him letting him know just how much she admired him in that moment.

"What did the doctor say?"

Det. Beckett cleared her throat before speaking. "The doctor said that the damage on the inside is just as bad if not worse than the outside. They want her to stay over the night for observation."

It was clear that this information bothered him, it bothered her too. She used it as fuel to her fire, all the more reason to catch the son-of-a-bitch behind all this as soon as possible.

[-]

The car ride back to the precinct was silent a majority of the way. Every so often Castle would take his eyes of the scenery passing by and look over at Beckett. He could tell she was deep in thought by the way her brow furrowed. He so badly wanted to find the right words to say, words to put her at ease, everything he had thought of just didn't sound right. He was running all sorts of possibilities in his head up until the moment she spoke as they were stepping into the elevator. "When we get upstairs I want you to assist the guys. I am going to try and question Andre alone, see what I can get out of him so we can get a warrant to search his place." The bell sounded as they arrived at their designated floor. They both walked out at the same time. Beckett called out to a uniformed officer to bring Andre Renteria into interrogation Room 1.

The team watched as uniforms escorted Andre into the interrogation room and Beckett joined. After she shut the door Castle looked over at the murder board trying to find something that would tie Andre to the murder so that they could get a search warrant. He turned from the board and looked over to the guys "Hey Ryan, where there any cameras in the building?" Ryan got up from his seat and walked over to where Castle was standing. "No, none. But we can search street cams and see if we can catch him coming out of the building after the murder." He started to walk back over to his desk.

Gates popped her head out of her office and walked over to Esposito's desk just as he was hanging up the phone. "Detective Esposito where are we at on the case?" He was just finishing up scribbling something down on his notepad before he looked up and made eye contact with the Captain.

"I just got off the phone with someone in the gang unit and they gave me a few more names of the guys in Andre Renteria's crew. I cross referenced their names with the list of people we have that carry the same weapon that was used on our vic. Along with Andre's name I found a handful of his crew members too." Esposito handed the list over to Gates so she could look over the names he had circled.

She skimmed over the list before handing it back to Detective Esposito. "You and Det. Ryan split up to go question these guys and see what they know." After Gates gave her orders to them she began to turn around and head back into her office.

"Actually…." Castle caught Gates' attention before she could walk away. She turned around to look at him and it was no surprise that the look on her face was a look of annoyance. She didn't say a word; instead she let Castle finish his thought. "Beckett and I were going to have the victim's sister identify the guys who beat her up. If we do that first that might narrow down the people we have to question, save us some time." Castle just stood there waiting for any kind of response from the Captain, knowing full well that there was 100% chance that she would shoot his idea down without thinking twice. Everyone in the room was very surprised to hear Gates give orders for them to take a book down to the hospital to narrow down their suspects. For a moment he thought he saw a slight smile of approval but in a nano second it was gone. Gates returned to her office and the boys headed down to the hospital.

**A/N: So sorry that this took ages to upload. I have had a lot of things going on such as moving and being a nanny, but all that is boring compared to the wonderful fictional world of this story. Anyways I appreciate the few reviews I have gotten and I am glad to hear you guys like the story. I hope to get some more reviews after this chapter and hopefully it will motivate me to post the next one a lot quicker. Again I did not use a beta so all mistakes are mine. Please let me know if you find any :)**


	5. Chapter 5

**Out Of Hiding: Chapter 5**

**Description: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and discovering ones they didn't know they had.**

Beckett walked into the interrogation room ready to break Andre Renteria. She placed a file on the metal table that contained all of the suspect's information. She sat down in the chair across from him and leaned back, folded her arms across her chest and stared him directly in the eye, challenging him. "So before we brought you in you said you didn't know anything about the threats that were being made against a Chris Kendricks. I find that very odd considering we have a witness who claims otherwise. So how about you start telling me the truth Andre." She had obviously been through similar interrogations but that didn't mean she sometimes had trouble keeping her cool. She wouldn't let him win, not anymore. His eyes were cold as he looked back at her. The standoff between the two had started as he leaned back in his seat. He wasn't budging which meant she needed to try a different approach. She walked over to the door of the interrogation room, opened it up and discreetly gave orders to a uniform outside. After she closed the door she leaned up against the wall and waited.

They had been enduring in a staring contest for quite some time before the sound of her phone ringing echoed in the room. After she answered she didn't do much talking to whoever was on the other side of the line. The phone call was short and before she hung up all she said was "Great you can just bring it all back to the precinct. Thanks." She was not the type of cop to get physically rough with a suspect and she didn't think charming him and flirting would really get her anywhere. The only tactic left was to just sit down and talk. No railroading him with questions or raising her voice. She sat across from him once again and leaned forward closing in on the distance between them. "Listen Mr. Renteria I know you were threatening Chris Kendricks, I know you killed him and I know you had your crew jump his sister. So why don't you just start out by telling me what happened."

It was clear that Det. Beckett was not the only one who had been in situations similar to this. Andre's record was proof of that. "Well, all there is to tell is that I met him in lock up and after he got out he started doing business for me. Nothing more to tell." He shrugged "But just for fun let's say I did threaten him, hypothetically. If I did I had a good reason to."

Beckett nodded because she was finally getting somewhere. Overly confident suspect were one of the easiest to break. You just had to fluff up their ego a little bit. "Really? What might that reason have been, if you were hypothetically threatening him?"

"Well with Chris working for me business was good. He had that pretty boy look to him that drew all the rich kids in. One night maybe Chris doesn't watch his back and he gets jumped. The guys take my merchandise and get away. Guys in my crew know what happens if they lose their stash." He shifted in his seat. "So maybe I threatened him, hypothetically, but I didn't kill him, I got an alibi."

"What alibi would that be?" He was walking himself into a trap and there was no way Beckett was going to stop him.

He had a coy smile as he gave up his alibi "I was with my boys when Chris was killed. You can ask them."

_Got him. _Beckett thought. "Were you now? I find that hard to believe since your alibi happens to be on your payroll, not to mention that I never mentioned the time of death so the only way you would know when it happened would be if you were there." She leaned back in her chair and crossed her arms over her chest.

He thought he could play this game better than her but he was very wrong. "So I guess you got me huh? Well then I should tell you I warned Chris what would happen if he couldn't pay me back, I told him that both him and his sister would pay. I would have gone easier on him if he hadn't been trying to skip out on me."

"So you killed him because he wanted to leave town before he paid you back." She wasn't asking because she already knew the answer.

He leaned in close to her giving a smug look because he thought at that moment that he had won. "Too bad you can't prove it."

Right at that moment there was a subtle and quiet knock on the door. Beckett got up and opened the door slightly. It was the smoking gun she needed to convict the son-of-a-bitch. With the bag of evidence in her hand she walked over back to the metal table where Andre was handcuffed. She placed the bag on the table in his line of sight. She looked at him as he was looking at the evidence. "That's where you're wrong. Uniforms just got back from searching your place. Don't worry about a warrant, they had probable cause. They seemed to find some very interesting things, a shirt with traces of blood." She didn't wait for him to explain any of it. She just continued on. "For someone on parole you seemed to have a lot of weapons that violated your restrictions. The weapon used to kill Chris was in there too. My guess is we are going to find your prints on the weapon along with Chris' blood. Now I think would be a good time to confess." She stood straight up and watched as he hung his head down. She didn't wait for him to try and pile on another fabrication. She just walked out of the room.

The she was greeted by Castle, Gates, Esposito and Ryan. Also among the group was the victim's younger sister Bria. She walked over and mentioned how Andre would be going away for a long time and that though he hadn't confessed yet there was no doubt that he would try in an attempt to cut a deal. Gates gave one big congratulations to the group. She didn't look at Castle but it was evident that she was slowly softening up to him, just not completely yet.

Beckett looked over to Bria. She was still pretty bruised but she looked a little better than she had the last time she saw her. "So I see you are out and well. I thought the doctors wanted to keep you over night?"

Bria just smiled "Well they did but Mr. Castle convinced them to let me free after _I_ convinced him I wouldn't i.d. the guys you were looking for unless he did." She adjusted the sling around her neck and right arm in an effort to get more comfortable, though that seemed to be impossible.

The group chuckled. "You let a 15 year old girl manipulate you?"

Castle was just speechless. He attempted to voice some sort of explanation but nothing, no extravagant story could mask the fact the he indeed let a 15 year old girl manipulate him.

[-]

Gates had gone back into her office so it was now just the three detectives and two civilians. All laughing together, but for a short while the laughing had stopped as uniforms were walking Andre Renteria over to processing. The murderer and the uniformed officer had not made it far before Bria walked up to them. She had a coy smile knowing that he was going to jail where he belonged. "You killed my brother." Det. Esposito stepped closer but did not interfere. "I hope that when you are laying in your cell each night my brother's face haunts you, haunts you for the rest of your pathetic life! And you better pray that I don't find you if you get out, because if I do I will make sure you get what you deserve and you will be begging me for mercy." Just at that moment before she could say anything else Esposito grabbed her left arm to pull her back so that the officer could get Andre to processing. Her eyes never left him; even as he was out of her line of sight.

"So let's hope we don't ever see you again." Det. Ryan said as he smiled and placed his hands in his pockets.

"Well hopefully with any luck you won't. I plan to use my manipulative charm" she emphasized looking towards Castle "on my social worker and see if I can move over to Connecticut. It was one of my brother's favourite places. I don't know why but it was."

There was a silence among the group, which was quickly gone as Bria Kendricks' social worker walked up. She informed them that she was there to take the young girl and place her back in foster care. The look on her face was what you would expect from someone who was going back into foster care. Before she left she looked at everyone and thanked them for finding her brothers killer and putting him away. They all smiled and waved good-bye.

Esposito and Ryan grabbed their stuff and went on their way home after saying goodnight to Beckett and Castle. Not long after the pair exited the precinct as well. They were standing outside and before Castle had gotten a chance to say goodnight Det. Beckett intervened. "You were really good with the victim's sister; I don't think we would have been able to seal the case without you." She smiled in response to his smile. "This was a particularly long case what do you say we end it with a few drinks?"

He waved out his arm in a motion for her to take lead. As she began to walk he subtly gave her his arm as he escorted her down to the Old Haunt.

[-]

After an hour or so of knocking back drinks and sharing funny stories they had both noticed it was near last call at the Old Haunt. They had both come to the realization that neither of them was ready to call it a night. "What do you say we make this a real date by grabbing a bite to eat?"

Rick was stunned at first that she was acknowledging him as someone she would like to go out on a date with in public, out loud. He didn't question her about 'why now', he didn't want to ruin this moment with any explanations. All he wanted was to take the woman he loved out for a bite. "I thought you'd never ask." He accompanied his answer with a charming boyish smile as he paid for their drinks and went one their way.

Neither of them was drunk but also not sober enough to drive they decided that a walk with fresh air would be just what they needed. He didn't really want to bring up the case but he could tell Kate was thinking about it. "You did a really good job handling everything with this case. I know it probably wasn't easy."

Kate looked over at Rick and smiled at his attempt to reassure her that there was no reason for her to be feeling this way. "Oh, I just- I can't help but feel a little bad. The victim's sister is going right back into foster care where she obviously didn't want to be. When I was a rookie I used to deal with quite a few foster care kids who would get into trouble and the system is no place for any kid."

Rick did his best to comfort her but there was no way he had any idea what to say. Situations like this just didn't come naturally to him "She will be okay. From what we both saw in the precinct and on the roof the other day I think it is safe to say she will be just fine on her own." He looked into her eyes trying to believe the words he said himself. His words were not fact because he did not know for sure, his words were only meant for comfort and that is all that he could hope they did.

"But no one should have to be alone, especially at that age." She so badly wanted to believe his words to be true and she wanted more than anything for them to put her at ease but that simply was not the kind of person she was.

[-]

They arrived at the restaurant and placed themselves in a booth while waiting for a server to assist them. The atmosphere around them was somewhat rustic. Just by sitting in a seat you could feel the history and the stories it had known.

Kate looked across at Rick; he was looking through his menu. Every so often as he would look up her eyes would flicker in another direction, like playing tag, kids playing tag. After all she had always spoke of him in childlike references, why should now be any different? When the waitress came over Kate was quickly skimming over the menu. She had been staring at Rick so much she hadn't had much opportunity to actually think about what she wanted to eat. Rick took note and ordered for the two of them. The waitress took their menus and left them.

Neither were very comfortable in this date setting, they were so used to just being partners, friends, that neither knew how to act date-ly around each other. Most of the time waiting for their food was spent with glances and smiles up until their waitress came by with the burgers and fries Rick had ordered for both of them.

After they had finished their food they continued their conversation that Kate had started in between bites. They ended up spending another hour just sitting there talking. They had finally reached a rhythm before Rick noticed the time. He offered to walk Kate back to the precinct to her car. She accepted, he paid and they began to walk out.

She had no idea who on earth would be calling this late, technically early, on her day off no less, but when she heard the other person speak the smile she was previously wearing seemed to fade away with each second that went by. After she hung up she paused for a moment trying to absorb all the information. Rick could tell nothing good had come from that phone conversation; he was trying not to push.

"The victim's sister, she uh, she ran off. That was the social worker; she asked if I would help find her." She looked over at Rick. She didn't have to speak, her eyes told him that she had to go out and look. He didn't protest, he only offered to drive.

**A/N: I know that this chapter is just a tad shorter than the others but if I would have kept going it would have been wayyyy too long. I am terrible with writing the date scene because I have no experience to pull from. If there is anyone who would like to lend their expertise for future reference I would be forever in your debt. I also know this took a while to put up but this new nanny job has got me stretched really thin, I don't even have time for a social life let alone a fictional one. But I hope to get ch. 6 up a lot faster! Reviews would help make that happen :)**


	6. Chapter 6

**Out Of Hiding: Chapter 6**

**Description: A new case for Beckett and Castle leaves them having to face their true desires and discovering ones they didn't know they had.**

They drove along Broadway and West 60th rethinking every possible scenario. Ideas were thrown around out loud and no matter what came up nothing seemed to fit, not that there was any specific criteria to follow, Bria Kendricks was very unpredictable. They were held up at a light when Beckett spoke once again "You spent some time with her at the hospital, did she say anything that hinted where she would go or if there was anyone she could stay with?"

Castle looked over at Beckett. He was replaying everything, every detail and every word spoken. The car behind him broke his thought when their honk had informed him the light had turned green. He didn't say anything he drove with the flow of traffic around Columbus Circle until he was on West 59th. After a while Beckett couldn't stand the mystery any longer and she finally asked Castle where they were going. "Grand Central." He smiled.

"Castle you realize that the social worker has already sent a few uniforms that way, it is standard procedure when there is a runaway." She leaned back and rested her head against the seat.

"Oh ye have little faith. We know something they don't. We know where she is going." He smiled even bigger with confidence. "We just have to hope we get there before she's gone."

She lifted her head from the seat and looked over at him with genuine confusion. "Just how is it that you know where she is going?" As he spoke she began to remember the earlier events that took place at the precinct where Bria had mentioned something about moving to Connecticut because of how much her brother loved it there.

Beckett muttered something very subtlety, but loud enough so that Castle was able to hear what she said the first time. It was not something that she wanted to repeat. "Genius? Did I just hear you call me a Genius?" Before he got the chance to tease her about it for the remainder of the ride like he had wanted to she informed him that if ever spoken about again she would deny it. He simply nodded in agreement, deciding it was best not to protest this one seeing at they had more important things to worry about.

[-]

After arriving at the train station they both immediately rushed in to the nearest customer service desk asking when the next train for Connecticut was leaving and from what terminal. Det. Beckett and Castle both pushed their way through the crowd trying to make their way to terminal 11. Once they spotted her neither of them moved. They had no idea what either of them was going to say or do, they didn't think that far ahead.

For a moment neither of them moves, but there is a surge inside her forcing her to walk towards the bench where the girl is sitting. Castle had an idea of his own to call the social worker. "Hey" Kate said softly to ensure that she wouldn't startle Bria. She wasn't startled; instead she just calmly turned around as if she were expecting the company.

There was a hint of a smirk behind her smile when she saw who it was. She let out a deep sigh and then turned back around, facing forward as she spoke. "What are you doing here?" She kept her eyes focused on a phone booth that was off in the distance. Kate kept her hand on the back of the bench as she walked around to the front asking if she could sit. Bria did not take her eyes off the phone booth, she grabbed her backpack and moved it into her lap accepting Kate's request.

"I came here because I-I thought that I would be able to stop you from making this mistake." She narrowed her gaze in hopes that the girl could she how serious she was.

Bria toughened up her posture by folding her arms across her chest and placing one leg over the other. "Well you wasted your time because my train leaves in about 45 minutes and I'm not going to miss it." She took in a deep breath "This city has taken everything from me. I have nothing now, no parents, my brother…" She looked over at Kate "My brother was the last thing I had and now he's gone too, so there is nothing here for me.

Kate smiled to herself and looked down at the ground as she nervously fidgeted with her hands. "When I was about your brother age, just a little bit younger actually, I had someone taken from me, my mom. After, I almost lost my dad and even myself. I've spent a really long time trying to make sense of her death, trying to put away the guy responsible and I have gotten really close." She turned to face Bria once again "I have learned a lot of things from being a detective, one of the most important things being that running away only gets rid of your problems for a short period of time. Eventually the things you run from suddenly end up catching up to you. There are always lessons in life experiences; you just have to be open to finding them."

Bria's posture was noticeably more vulnerable "So what? I stay in the city where I am constantly reminded that everyone I have ever cared about is gone, get put into a foster home that is just as bad if not worse than the last? There is no happily ever after in foster care. It is just something we tell ourselves to get by."

Kate held her eye contact with Bria "I'm going to be here for you to make sure you get put into a good home." She smiled to give the young girl hope but she noticed that their eye contact had broken. She turned around to find the social worker standing next to Castle with a uniformed officer. Once she turned back Bria was already standing up to put her bag around her shoulders.

Before walking away Bria muttered something to Kate. "That's what the social worker always says before she dumps me at some shit hole." She left before giving Kate the chance to assure her that she had every intention of keeping her word.

Castle walked up to Beckett with both hands in his pockets. As they both watched her walk away he removed one of his hands from his pockets and placed it on her shoulder gently. It went unnoticed as she was zoned in on trying to decipher what was being said between the young girl and her social worker. Castle attempted once again to get her attention "You were great with her you know?" Kate looked over and responded with a Mona Lisa type smile as she inched closer towards him. His hand moved from one shoulder to the other as his arm wrapped around her. Her smile faded as she caught the last of the conversation that was happening just a short distance in front of her.

As the conversation went on Bria Kendricks straightened up to appear tougher to those around her. "You are going to have to go back to the Solarity Home for Girls until I am able to find a suitable foster home for you." Bria said nothing; she only began to walk after the social worker had motioned for them to leave.

Castle had motioned for them to leave as well. Beckett's words "Wait!" went unheard be everyone except for Castle. She called out once more, leaving Castle behind. She quickened her step to catch up to the group. All three of the people standing in front of her were waiting for her to make her statement, but for a moment the air hung dry with no words spoken. Kate had no idea what was coming over her in that moment, other than she felt it was something that needed to be done for Bria, or maybe even herself. She didn't keep them waiting any longer because if she had she might have chickened out.

"She can stay with me."

[-]

The car ride was nothing but awkward silence; no one knew what to say. So when Castle had pulled up in front of Kate's building there was a certain feeling of relief in the atmosphere. All three of them got out of the car. Castle decided he wanted to escort both of them up stairs to Beckett's loft.

Kate unlocked the door and allowed Bria inside. She softly shut it for a quick moment alone with Rick. "Well I think tomorrow I will take my coffee with extra shots of espresso. I don't think I will be able to get any sleep in before work." She looked down at the watch on her wrist. She then smiled and looked up at Rick as if to thank him for how helpful he was, for the case and with all that had gone on in the last twelve hours. She was truly thankful for having him by her side.

"I will make sure to get you extra caffeine." He smiled at her "What you did tonight, I have to say, was really unexpected."

She nodded in compliance with his statement because what she did was definitely unexpected. "I don't even really know what came over me. I guess some of the things she said to me when we were sitting on that bench at the train station just really got to me." Kate had her brow furrowed still trying to figure out just exactly why she agreed to take the young girl in. She had given Castle advice about Alexis plenty of times, but actually taking care of a teenager was an entirely different task to wake on, one that she wasn't sure she was qualified to do.

It was if Castle could sense her worry because he spoke softly and ensured her just how amazing she was. "Thinking about it now and all the ways you have helped Alexis I guess it isn't that surprising. You have been a really great role model for Alexis and I know you will be the same for Bria."

She just chuckled to herself. As Castle spoke she began to recount the times she had been there for Alexis and it really wasn't as surprising. "Thanks Rick, that means a lot to me." She smiles at him as she puts one hand on the door knob ready to say goodnight and walk inside. Instead of turning the knob she just stands there waiting, looking at him.

He felt it. His instinct took over as he leaned in and gave her a soft kiss that holds so much meaning; neither of them knows what to say once they part. It was nothing like the kiss they had shared before; everything about this kiss was sweet, gentle and hart-warming. Kate tries to mutter something but her words are lost. "Castle…" They both know that this kind of moment shouldn't be ruined by explanations or by trying to analyze it. "Good night Kate." He flashed a charming smile before he turned around to go back downstairs to his car, go home and spend the rest of the evening unable to think about anything other than what just happened.

[-]

When he walked in he had looked over at the clock and realized the time. Just enough of it was left for him to shower, get ready, grab some coffee for him and Beckett and head to the precinct.

He soon went downstairs to find both Alexis and his mother gathered in the kitchen eating breakfast. Both had noticed his extra chipper attitude. "Darling you seem unusually fatigued this morning. Did you have a late night with Beckett last night?" He hadn't even noticed a change normally when his mother teased him about Beckett he would come up with a sarcastic retort, but currently he had nothing. "Somewhat, but it isn't what you think mother. Everyone from the precinct went out from some drinks after work, but it ended up getting cut short because a girl from the case we just closed went missing. We spent the remainder of the night searching for her." He knew that there was a chance both his mother and Alexis would be able to tell that he was lying, or at least partially lying, but he was far too tired to deal with the interrogation that would have come with telling the truth. Quickly he finished his breakfast and headed out the door after saying good-bye to both his mom and his daughter.

[-]

Soon after showering and getting ready she realized that there wasn't actually much edible food in her loft. After a while of searching she found a box of bran flakes in a cupboard and about a half carton of milk in the fridge. As she was pulling some bowls off of a shelf Bria walked into the kitchen. "Hey, uhm I know it probably isn't your first choice for breakfast but it was pretty much the only edible thing I had, so I hope it's okay."

Bria looked down at the box of cereal as Kate place a bowl and spoon in front of her. "Oh no it's fine. I've never really had time to eat breakfast before, so my standards are pretty low." She smiled and filled here bowl with cereal and milk.

While they ate there was an awkward silence that filled the entire loft. Beckett had attempted to break the silence. "So I am not sure exactly what the protocol is here, but I know we will have to go to social services and get things sorted out… if you wanted to stay here until they find you a more permanent home or you could see what other options you have." She looked at her cautiously and waited for Bria to say something in return.

"Well I know I've already caused a lot of trouble and I wouldn't want to make things more any more difficult than they already have been for you or anyone else. My future includes crappy homes in foster care and that is just something I have to accept." She was finished with her breakfast and walked over to the sink to wash her bowl out.

Kate took her last bite and waited for Bria to finish washing her bowl out before placing hers in the sink. She turned to face her. "I meant what I said earlier about making sure you get put into a good home."

Nothing else was said by either of them. Bria just gave Kate a sympathetic smile and Kate returned with a more hopeful smile. Both grabbed their coats and Kate drove them to the precinct.

**A/N: So I had some problems uploading this for some reason, but it is up now! Sorry it is a tad shorter than the others. I got a bit stuck towards the end. Please, pretty please review and let me know what you guys are thinking. I would really appreciate your feedback. You can also contact me on Tumblr and let me know what you think, just click my link on my profile page. Hope you enjoyed this chapter!**


	7. Chapter 7

Firstoff, sorry if anyone thought that this was a new chapter. Though with the amount of time that has passed since Ch. 6 I doubt anyone did. Anyways, I recently found a few draft pages of the rest of this story, or at least the next part. I was wondering if there was any interest from anyone for a possible sequel or even just a continuation on this one. I realize a lot of time has passed not only since this story was last updated, but, also from the time that this story is set in to the time of the show currently. I would love some input on what you guys think, continuation or not that sort of thing.


End file.
